DUKE (v1)

Duke was first available as a mail-in exclusive in the second series (1983).

In 1984, Duke was available carded as part of the third series. He was also sold in 1985, and was discontinued in 1986. At some point afterwords, Duke was also available mail-order through Hasbro Direct.

Images

Accessories

Duke came with a light green helmet (with or without holes - see Variations below), a light green M-32 submachine gun, black binoculars, and a tan assault pack.

The early mail-in version of Duke included a tiny decal of an American flag. However, few collectors consider these decals accessories and most collectors will consider Duke complete even if the decal is missing.

Filecard Information

Duke was fluent in French, German, and English when he enlisted in 1967. Graduated top of his class at airborne school, Fort Benning. Opted for U.S. Army Special Language School. Specialized in Han Chinese and South East Asian dialects. Went Special Forces in 1969. Worked with tribesman in the boonies of South Vietnam. Ran four different Special Forces schools. Turned down a commission in 1971. Commands by winning respect. Current assignment: Acting First Sergeant, G.I. Joe team.

Statement after declining commission: "They tell me that an officer's job is to impel others to take the risks--so that the officer survives to take the blame in the event of total catastrophe. With all due respect, sir...if that's what an officer does, I don't want any part of it."

Variations

Duke came with two different kinds of helmet. The earliest mail-in versions of Duke came with a helmet without holes in it. The carded release of Duke and later mail-in versions of Duke came with a helmet with holes.

The original mail-in version of the filecard has a close-up of Duke's face, while the carded filecard has medium shot from his waist up.

The earliest version of the mail-in filecard was on thick cardboard stock, with a dull brown backing. The later mail-in versions came on thin, glossy stock with red backing.

Earlier Dukes featured a head sculpt with smoother, less detailed hair. Neither head is more difficult to find.

Body Construction

Duke shares the same waist, arms and back as Doc. Duke shares the same lower legs (boots) as Gung-Ho, while he shares the same upper legs (thighs) as Major Bludd. Duke's legs were also used to create Tollbooth. The only original parts used to create Duke were his head and chest.

The variant of Duke with the cuffed sleeves used the same arm mold as several 1982 figures, including Stalker and Grunt.

Note that the figure's head only turns left and right - it does not allow the head to look up and down. The heads only turned left and right until the the swivel ball head that was introduced in 1985 (Series Four).

International Variants

In Europe and the United Kindgom, Duke was sold on Action Force cards. Duke was also available bagged in the Action Pack.

In Japan, most of the Dukes released there are identical to the domestic releases. However, some Japanese Dukes use the cuffed sleeve variation. While the image of the Japanese Duke in our archives features the Doc waist instead of the Cobra Officer waist, we cannot confirm this as a legitimate variant at this time.

In China, a Chinese Duke was released with a different waist and arms. If Duke has Cobra Officer's waist and Hit & Run's elastic sleeves, check if the date stamp reads "1988". If this is the case, this is the Chinese Duke. Additionally, the green of the pants is a slightly brighter hue.

WHOBIT

The only thing harder to keep track of than the 500+ G.I.Joe action figures released since 1982 are the many
guns, backpacks, helmets, and knives that were included with the figures. With almost 1800 different G.I.Joe
accessories, identifying them was once a long, arduous task. But not anymore.

Enter WHOBIT.

If you have an accessory and don't know which figure it came with, follow the instructions below and let WHOBIT help you identify where it came from.